Saturday, April 30, 2011

Lightweights Edson Barboza and Ross Pearson to meet in Brazil at UFC 134 this August

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC's long-awaited return to Brazil continues to fill up, and the UFC on Tuesday announced that Ultimate Fighter season nine winner Ross Pearson will meet Rio de Janeiro native Edson Barboza on the card in a lightweight contest.

The hard-hitting Barboza moved his perfect record to 8-0 in his second appearance in the Octagon last month, as he defeated WEC-import Anthony Njokuani by decision at UFC 128 in that event's "Fight of the Night." That win was a follow-up to his successful debut last November, where he destroyed Mike Lullo's legs with kicks, leading to the stoppage in the third round.

Pearson bounced back from the first loss of his UFC career when he defeated Spencer Fisher by decision in February in Australia. The TUF 9 winner had won his first three fights in the UFC before being submitted by Cole Miller last September, but the win over the longtime UFC vet Fisher has him back on track.

UFC 134 takes place from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 27, headlined by the Middleweight Championship bout between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami.

Penick's Analysis: This card is beginning to fill up nicely, and the UFC will continue putting a Brazilian in each fight for the home country crowd. This fight is a really good one in the lightweight division between two very good strikers who are sure to bring a very entertaining fight for the card. It will be Pearson's boxing against Barboza's kicks and overall striking game, and that makes for a very interesting fight overall.